Current account gap shrinks more in April

ANKARA

Turkey’s January-April current account deficit dropped by around half compared to the same period last year thanks to robust trade performance, the Central Bank has announced.

As the April gap narrowed to $4.79 billion, the country’s four-month current account deficit was recorded at $16.37 billion, indicating a decrease of $8.28 billion in comparison to the previous year, according to Central Bank data released on June 12.

“This decrease is mainly due to the [drop in the] foreign trade deficit, which was recorded at $17.40 million, a decrease of $8.14 million compared to the first four months of 2013. The services account also indicated a surplus of $3.99 billion, increasing by $621 million,” the Bank stated.

A plunge in gold imports also helped bring down the current account deficit, as Turkey’s gold-for-gas trade with Iran, which consisted of importing large amounts of gold that would be transferred to its gas-rich neighbor, came to a halt.

According to the Central Bank data, non-monetary gold items recorded a net export value of $1.34 billion over the four months, in contrast to the same period of 2013, when there were net imports worth $3.45 billion.